The Great Depression showed no signs of departure throughout the 1930s, so what could leaders of West Palm Beach, Fla. do to shake off the city's economic doldrums and once again have it become a major tourist attraction?

Fishing, anyone?

The Gulf Stream curves a few miles off the Palm Beaches en route to the northern Atlantic Ocean and billfish like sailfish and marlin are among its inhabitants. Enter the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Founded in 1934, it was designed to be more than a sport fishing club whose activities benefitted only members. The new organization's goals were a mix of sport fishing for the masses and pride in civic responsibilities and projects.

A year after its founding, the club established the still-running Silver Sailfish Derby and the rest is history -- 75 years' worth.

Mike Rivkin, who authored the International Game Fish Association history as well as two other books of interest to sport fishermen, happened to be making a south Florida swing while researching one of those books.

"Our paths crossed and we began discussing our club's rich history," said Tom Twyford, the club's director. "Turns out he was looking for another book project. The timing was perfect and so was publication of the book, just in time for our 75th birthday."

Rivkin traces not only the club's history, but the attractions of a sport fishery that predated the organization. Noted anglers like Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway played key roles in helping the area become an angler's mecca, with luminaries such as PGA Tour star Jack Nicklaus coming later. Golf is Nicklaus' main game, but sport fishing isn't far behind.

Complementing the writing are photos of club- and sport fishing-related memorabilia that illustrates the dedication of supporters that backed up club activities. Personable Frances Doucet, who served the club from 1949-98, saved every scrap of paper that crossed her desk, resulting in "a vast treasure trove of ephemera that today makes up the heart and soul of the WPBFC's archives."

It makes for an enjoyable read.

The club has long been active in the field of conservation, with many programs benefitting both fish and fishermen, in both fresh and salt water.

After largemouth bass fishing success began to wane because of commercial harvesting of the species, the club in 1935 lobbied the Florida Legislature to assign favored game fish status to bass. In 1936, the club imported 7,000 bass fingerlings from Texas to restock local lakes and it's no accident that one can enjoy a good day's fishing on Lake Okeechobee today.

The club has been credited with many innovations, including tag and release of game fish.

Tagging fish has provided fisheries scientists with migratory data not available anywhere else. For example, a sailfish tagged off Palm Beach in 1960 was caught a year later 30 miles off St. Petersburg, Fla., on the state's west coast. A fish tagged in May of 1963 off Palm Beach was recaptured 76 days later off the coast of Morehead City, N.C.

King mackerel tagging began in 1975 to document the growth, migration and popular dynamics of the species, with tagging extended to snook and tarpon a decade or two later.

Yet another successful club program was establishment of dozens of artificial reefs.

The Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation was set up in 1990 as a charitable affiliate of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. This entity qualifies for grants and provides tax incentives to potential donors.

The list of accomplishments is forever growing and who knows what lies over the horizon of the next 75 years?

West Palm Beach Fishing Club -- A 75-Year History , by Mike Rivkin. Hardbound, 245 pp., well-illustrated. Available in a limited edition of 900 signed and numbered copies for $75, with net proceeds benefitting the club's affiliated charitable foundation. For more information, contact Tom Twyford, WPBFC Director, at ttwyford@mindspring.com or (561) 832-6780.